Fans of opposing teams, are you worried about the Washington Redskins?

[ArmchairRedskin]

MLskins and DHall are homies.

[darklight1216]

Nope, I can't say that I am, but I think I have good reasons not to be.

[Conn]

MLskins and DHall are homies.

[Laxpunk2006]

First of all, I don't see people wearing those types of jerseys around here.

But more importantly, it's hard to deny that this off-season feels a little different than others in the past. I am not saying we are going to win a Super Bowl. We could easily miss the playoffs, the NFC is deep this year. I am just saying I can see why other fans are scared. The Washington Redskins are finally operating like a real NFL franchise.

I am so sick of this quote.

Post new kid on the block Norv Turner we go with Schotty. "We've got a proven winner!" That doesn't work out so we go out and get Spurrier. "Finally no more retreads! The NFL isn't ready for Spurrier's innovative offense!" He fails so we go back and get Gibbs. "He won us 3 SB's with 3 QB's! In Gibbs we trust!!!" Moderate success this time but we go out and get another new kid in Zorn. "Refreshing to have our players treated like men! Horny for Zorn!!! blah blah blah" Now we're back to a "proven winner" with Shanahan. "Shanahan demands respect! He's won SB's!!!"

This isn't different. The results might be but it's not like we haven't gone the route of a proven HC before. Yes we finally have a GM and that's all well and good but the majority of NFL teams have GM's. The majority of them have pretty good coaches too. None of this means we will or won't be successful this year or in the future. Being optimistic is great but some people really take it too far and buy into their own hype.

No, other teams fans are not afraid of us. Just like we aren't afraid of any of the other teams that picked in the top 10 last weekend.

McNabb is a big upgrade but where was all this support of him last season? He had better weapons and but up Jasom Campbell-esque numbers. Again, he's an upgrade but it's not like we just signed Peyton Manning in his prime. We aren't the only NFCE team that got better this offseason. We could make a big jump into contention but we could just as easily hold down the cellar of the East. Let's at least wait untill training camp before we started booking our flights and hotels to Dallas.

[CrypticVillain]

The skins will suffer this year from the same thing as every team in the division, a very tough schedule. The defense has been very good but if they are truely switching to a 3-4, there will be a learning curve and the D will regress some this year. As long as McNabb is there, I will never be scared of the skins.

You hit the nail on the head with these two points. We play the AFC South and the NFC North this year. Plus you know that the NFC East always beats up on each other throughout the year. The 3-4 learning curve could be steep. But it will be laughable to say that we can do what Green Bay did when they switched last year,

But then you said this:

As long as McNabb is there, I will never be scared of the skins.

The Redskins can give McNabb what he never had in Philly. And that is a true running game. Defense does when championships and the Eagles knew that. But what they failed to realize was that you need a running game to keep your defense rested. I don't care how good your defense is, if they are gassed out, they won't be able to stop anybody.

[CrypticVillain]

I am so sick of this quote.

Post new kid on the block Norv Turner we go with Schotty. "We've got a proven winner!" That doesn't work out so we go out and get Spurrier. "Finally no more retreads! The NFL isn't ready for Spurrier's innovative offense!" He fails so we go back and get Gibbs. "He won us 3 SB's with 3 QB's! In Gibbs we trust!!!" Moderate success this time but we go out and get another new kid in Zorn. "Refreshing to have our players treated like men! Horny for Zorn!!! blah blah blah" Now we're back to a "proven winner" with Shanahan. "Shanahan demands respect! He's won SB's!!!"

This isn't different. The results might be but it's not like we haven't gone the route of a proven HC before. Yes we finally have a GM and that's all well and good but the majority of NFL teams have GM's. The majority of them have pretty good coaches too. None of this means we will or won't be successful this year or in the future. Being optimistic is great but some people really take it too far and buy into their own hype.

No, other teams fans are not afraid of us. Just like we aren't afraid of any of the other teams that picked in the top 10 last weekend.

McNabb is a big upgrade but where was all this support of him last season? He had better weapons and but up Jasom Campbell-esque numbers. Again, he's an upgrade but it's not like we just signed Peyton Manning in his prime. We aren't the only NFCE team that got better this offseason. We could make a big jump into contention but we could just as easily hold down the cellar of the East. Let's at least wait untill training camp before we started booking our flights and hotels to Dallas.

First of all, I am not saying the Redskins are Super Bowl bound. (FWIW I got Pats/Cowboys) Iam just saying you have to respect these moves this off-season.

Since Norv left:

1. We let go of Marty too soon. How can we judge him off of one season. Especially when that season was one when we started 0-5, then went 5-0. We don't know how good he could have been here in DC. But I know in SD he turned the team around....

2.Spurrier- Should have stayed in college in the first place. And on top of that his heart was never in it.

3, You can't deny that Gibbs II wasn't a success. Two playoff appearances in four years after years of being sub par. But what Gibbs messed up on was letting Snyder and Cerrato leave their hands in the cookie jar too long.

4. Zorn should have been an offensive coordinator before he coached. Unlike Spurrier, his heart was in it, but he didn't know what he was doing and he had no control over the team.

[Rskins91]

I would have to say no. I have no doubt the team will be improved. How can it not be with the joke of a coach and QB gone? The skins will suffer this year from the same thing as every team in the division, a very tough schedule. McNabb was the only reason I was confident Dallas would beat Philly last year. That same confidence will now simply transfer to the skins for the same reason. The defense has been very good but if they are truely switching to a 3-4, there will be a learning curve and the D will regress some this year. We saw that in Dallas when Parcells came in. Again, I think they will be improved but no more than 7, maybe 8 wins due to the tough schedule. As long as McNabb is there, I will never be scared of the skins.

Interesting that McNabb's presence is reason for you NOT to be scared of the Redskins. Though you beat the Eagles 3 our of 3 times last year, I don't exactly think that was all on McNabb. Also, McNabb is a vast upgrade over Campbell, and that should instantly make the Skins more respectable.

Other than that though, I agree with most of your points. 3-4 will probably take some time to get used to for our D, though hopefully the transition will be smooth and take less time than originally thought (ex. Green Bay). Building the defense around Orakpo is something our team needs to do though, seeing as he is probably our only legit superstar in the making, so I support the move to give him a scheme that makes the most of his talent.

I also think 7-8 wins is realistic for the Redskins this year. The foundation is set for the team to win in the future, with smarter and financially supportable moves from the team, and an emphasis on the draft finally coming. But, barring a Dolphin or Falcon like turnaround in a year (who had really easy schedules when they did so), it's logical to say the Redskins won't fix their problems in one offseason. They've gone a long way, but they still need a starting RT, RG, ILB replacement for Fletch who is aging, FS, and either Malcolm Kelly or Devin Thomas to step up at WR (hopeful with McNabb's presence).

As a Skins fan, I think no one should be scared of us now. Concerned is a better word, as we finally got rid of incompetence at the highest level sans the Owner (Vinny as GM) and hired a real coach. We also got a major QB upgrade and are using a ZBS that has created great running backs from nothing, and can hide a bad o-line's faults at times. The best thing that you can hope minus a miracle turn around to instant contenders as a Skins fan is we get the pieces together in time for McNabb to use his skills and get us to a SB.

[bbailey423]

I am not a Redskins fan. I am a Cowboy fan. I have lived in the area almost 20 years...and I am a fan of the NFL, so I appreciated living in a city with a NFL team...so I follow the Redskins CLOSELY. Not out of fear....but out of the love for the NFL.

Here is my issue ALREADY with the new regime. Dan Snyder is NOT a football man, so he has been and continues to be susceptible to people with shiny resumes who have accomplished things in years past. So he brings in Allen and Shanahann. And I have not seen them do anything much different than what Joe Gibbs. Bring in family and old friends and hook them up the gravy train too. But how can Snyder balk at any of it...these legends have done great things in the past....the Redskins are not in a good state...so he has to do something. So whatever they want, he gives them

But at some point...these legends have to EARN these huge paychecks. Shannahan is getting a HUGE paycheck. So on some level, Snyder and Redskins nation should EXPECT him to make steak out of chicken at some positions.

He got Terrel Davis in the 6th round and turned him into a NFL MVP. What did he do here? Go with 3 guys who all want to start which could very well turn the lockeroom toxic when the starter has to be benched. I would expect for the money he is getting to find a RB in the middle rounds to groom and develop into a starter.

He gave up a couple of picks for Donavann McNabb. Well if Shanahann is a QB guru, why did he need a top 10 QB to work his magic? And what would Shanahann have done had the Eagles not made McNabb available? I am not worried about McNabbs production if he is healthy....but just like the Jason Taylor trade...you bring a guy in for a 2nd round pick with one year left on his deal. God forbid he gets hurt and does not play up to his potential or needs half the year adjusting to this scheme. There is a good chance neither party wants to do an extension and he becomes a one year bust like Jason Taylor. Why couldn't he have thrown a draft pick at a QB and EARNED the 7m Snyder is paying him by coaching somebody up. At the very least, Snyder should EXPECT that postion to be fixed when Shanny's time is up.

Shanahann is known for having productive OLs. Again, the #4 overall pick on a guy that MANY thought was not better than Okung. It is a risky move, but he gets the big bucks to make these decisions, so I applaud him for sticking his neck out. But he also for the kind of money he is getting has to develop me a couple without needing to use the #4 overall pick.

The Redskins did NOT have 4-12 talent last year. You have added a competent QB...so I think 8-8 should be the leasst you should expect from a average coach. But with a coach that is being paid like Shanahann....the EXPECTATION should be that he gets 2 more wins above what this talent suggests you should produce. At the very least, when his time in DC is done...the offense should be fixed. The QB should be fixed. The OL should be fixed. These should NOT be problems once his time is up. This is not too much to expect. The defense was fine before he got here and he is not even going to be involved with the defense. So again, for 7m he should not be moaning and groaning about what he does not have, he is being paid to be a differenc maker. Because I honestly believe a high school coach could have gotten 6 or 7 wins out of that team last year

[kappaluvacee]

As a redskins Fan bro, you shouldn't worry about other fans. If they give you a hard time, that's fine. wait till the bullets are actually flying. Then you'll see what's really what. I live in eagles country and I make sure I stand my ground and I wear my gear faithfully. I tell them to worry about their team and I'll worry about mine.

[barens2]

I'm agreeing with TonyRomoProBowl, not quite this year, but more than anything else, Mike Shanahan gives me a sense of uneasiness. You know that he won't be 1 and done, and he's going to get that team going in the right direction.

But as of right now, the 2 teams with the least amount of turnover, the Giants and Cowboys, are the teams I see in the drivers seat.

The Skins have new coaches, a new defense, a new QB, a new rookie left tackle, all the while there are still questions marks at right tackle, questions at wide receiver, and there's a lot for your running backs to prove at this point in there careers.

I expect the Giants to have a big advantage over the Redskins this year, considering the strength of our team, the defensive line, will be going against the weakest part of your team, your offensive line.

But once you have a year under Shanahan, and another draft, you guys should be in really good shape.

[barens2]

BTW, I thought Perry Riley was an excellent pick. Linebacker might not have been a need pick, but Riley should fit right into the NFC East, very physical and an excellent tackler.

[scyber]

You hit the nail on the head with these two points. We play the AFC South and the NFC North this year.

But while the schedule is similar, the Skins got the luck of the draw when it comes to home vs. away games. The skins are home vs. GB, Minn, Colts, & Texans. And they are away vs. Detroit, Chicago, Jags, & Tenn

As opposed to say the Giants that have to play the Colts, GB, and Minn on the road.

[PokerPacker]

I can't say I'm terribly afraid of the Skins this season. rebuilding a team is a long process.

[WARPATH85]

You must be because every time I put on some Redskin gear you all start talking. In the off-season it is usually just us NFC East rivals going at it. All of a sudden everybody is taking shots at us. I know I am not the only fan noticing this. I can't be. I was in a clothing store today, and the worker, who was a Vikings fan, asked me was I a Redskin fan.I guess he couldn't tell from my hat. After confirming his thought he said that we are only going to when two more games than last year.

Two wins, TWO WINS!!! Are you kidding me? That kind of pissed me off at first. But when I thought about it, I realized that maybe his blindness of our improvements might be a sever form of fear.

So I will ask again, fans of opposing teams, are you scared of the Washington Redskins?

If not, you should be........

I get that whereever I go, and it's bad when you got teams who never won their division, been to the playoffs, or won a Lombardi Throphy. Even here in Iraq, I get it, and if the person out ranks me, I give them a "Warning" because I let them have it. I'm so aggressive that if anyone in the area see and hear me, they know best to stay the Hell away, and keep their mouth shut. When I finally do leave El Paso, Texas, and land in Dallas Fort Worth, I will walk thru that airport with either Art Monk, or John Riggins jersey on my back.

9 more days left in Iraq!!!!!!..HTTR!!!!!:dallasuck:eaglesuck:gaintsuck

[WARPATH85]

I'm agreeing with TonyRomoProBowl, not quite this year, but more than anything else, Mike Shanahan gives me a sense of uneasiness. You know that he won't be 1 and done, and he's going to get that team going in the right direction.

But as of right now, the 2 teams with the least amount of turnover, the Giants and Cowboys, are the teams I see in the drivers seat.

The Skins have new coaches, a new defense, a new QB, a new rookie left tackle, all the while there are still questions marks at right tackle, questions at wide receiver, and there's a lot for your running backs to prove at this point in there careers.

I expect the Giants to have a big advantage over the Redskins this year, considering the strength of our team, the defensive line, will be going against the weakest part of your team, your offensive line.

But once you have a year under Shanahan, and another draft, you guys should be in really good shape.

How do you figure that out? Take Eli, or one of their RB's out of the equation. Do you think Jim Sorgi will have the same effect behind the Center. The Cowboys always IMPLODE within. You think Roy Williams is loving the fact that he now has to play 3RD Fiddle behind Austin, and now Bryant. I think with the change in attitude at Redskins Park, will shock alot of teams that we play. The Skins have basically been PU$$IE$ for the last 11 seasons.

If you think you're going to lose the battle, you'll never win the war!

[Rufus T Firefly]

I am so sick of this quote.

Post new kid on the block Norv Turner we go with Schotty. "We've got a proven winner!" That doesn't work out so we go out and get Spurrier. "Finally no more retreads! The NFL isn't ready for Spurrier's innovative offense!" He fails so we go back and get Gibbs. "He won us 3 SB's with 3 QB's! In Gibbs we trust!!!" Moderate success this time but we go out and get another new kid in Zorn. "Refreshing to have our players treated like men! Horny for Zorn!!! blah blah blah" Now we're back to a "proven winner" with Shanahan. "Shanahan demands respect! He's won SB's!!!"

This isn't different. The results might be but it's not like we haven't gone the route of a proven HC before. Yes we finally have a GM and that's all well and good but the majority of NFL teams have GM's. The majority of them have pretty good coaches too. None of this means we will or won't be successful this year or in the future. Being optimistic is great but some people really take it too far and buy into their own hype.

No, other teams fans are not afraid of us. Just like we aren't afraid of any of the other teams that picked in the top 10 last weekend.

McNabb is a big upgrade but where was all this support of him last season? He had better weapons and but up Jasom Campbell-esque numbers. Again, he's an upgrade but it's not like we just signed Peyton Manning in his prime. We aren't the only NFCE team that got better this offseason. We could make a big jump into contention but we could just as easily hold down the cellar of the East. Let's at least wait untill training camp before we started booking our flights and hotels to Dallas.

This.

It's no different from those other years. The OP may think this "feels different", but go back to one of those points in the past and he'd be saying the same type of thing.

[Rufus T Firefly]

The Redskins can give McNabb what he never had in Philly. And that is a true running game. Defense does when championships and the Eagles knew that. But what they failed to realize was that you need a running game to keep your defense rested. I don't care how good your defense is, if they are gassed out, they won't be able to stop anybody.

That's the other line I'm sick of. Philly had a very good running game a lot of the time McNabb was there. And it was WAY better last year than ours was. This thought that somehow we're going to elevate McNabb with a mythical running game is a joke.

The one thing we can give McNabb that he never had in Philly? A bad O-Line.

[CrypticVillain]

That's the other line I'm sick of. Philly had a very good running game a lot of the time McNabb was there.

Philly run game was mediocre at best. I recall a Sunday night game when they couldn't run the ball from the Bears goal line. I think it happened twice. They might have gotten a couple of runs here and there, but if defenses didn't have to respect Mcnabb teams could have shut downed the running game completely

And it was WAY better last year than ours was.

lol, you would pick the year when our TOP TWO!!! running backs were on IR. And on top of that, the O-line was in shambles too. And if you want to go to the stats, we were 27 with 94.4 rushing YPG. Eagles were a "WAY better" 8.9 YPG ahead of us.

This thought that somehow we're going to elevate McNabb with a mythical running game is a joke.

I honestly don't know how the running game will be this year, but it can't be any worst than last year. At least I hope not.

The one thing we can give McNabb that he never had in Philly? A bad O-Line.

We shall see about that. I already said what my theory was.....

[Big Blue Joe]

Yes. I wake up in cold sweats every night thinking about Mike Williams taking on Justin Tuck next season.

[Ghost of]

The one thing we can give McNabb that he never had in Philly? A bad O-Line.

This is not true. He's had a bad o-line there for a little bit now.

[Leopard11]

As a Redskins fan, I expect to see a 9-7 record this year which I would consider an above avg grade and a step up. An 8-8 record is just avg grade and I would feel indifferent with that. A 7-9 record would be below expectations not happy with that. And a 10-6 record would exceed expectations. I dont see our team being any better or worse than those scenerios but.. I could lieing to ya! And I hope I am.. for the better that is! Out of all the teams in the NFL my bet is actually on the Vikings to win the SB. I think they have a well rounded team on both sides of the ball. Good draft picks that will improve both D and O. Questionable QB situation is the only thing I can think of that would prevent them from winning it all IMO. Is the Favre coming back for 1 more? IF so when he gets hurt can the # 2 step in get the job done? And who is the #2?

[illone]

I think "scared" is the wrong word at this stage of the game.

Other teams fans do respect the Skins a "little" bit more now, though, that they are finally being run by real football people.

:2cents:

[pjfootballer]

BTW, I thought Perry Riley was an excellent pick. Linebacker might not have been a need pick, but Riley should fit right into the NFC East, very physical and an excellent tackler.

It was a need pick. Changing to the 3-4, we have a couple of guys switching from DE to LB (Carter and Lo Alexander), we have an older ILB in Fletcher and we have a bunch of young guys who don't have alot of playing time.

[KDawg]

Is any fan ever truly "scared" of another team? *shrug*

[terrifNick21]

I think a better question for this would be, " Fans of opposing teams, are you worried about the Washington Redskins?